Double Trouble
by Sealgirl
Summary: COMPLETE... In the Shadow Mountains, Dungeonmaster sends the Kids to find the Orion Lance which can “point the way home”. But someone else is after the Lance, and Presto soon discovers that looks can be deceiving.
1. Tranquility

DISCLAIMER: Characters belonging to someone else (you know who you are), consider yourselves thoroughly disclaimed. Thank you.

STORY: Set after the events in the story 'The Point of No Return.'

Events in that story are alluded to, but it is NOT necessary to read The Point of No Return to understand this story, since it is not a sequel.

RATING: PG13.

THANKS: Goes to all the people who were fabulous enough to review my other storys :)

* * *

Double Trouble

Chapter 1

Tranquillity

They had been in the forest clearing for four days.

It was a peaceful place, and Presto was content. The fierce, bright light from the four suns was muted through the green of the leaves from tall trees. The wind danced through the branches and round the trunks, leaving a gentle, subtle murmur of delight in its wake.

He wasn't sure why they had stopped and stayed here, but they all seemed glad of the rest. Visiting Ur had taken a lot out of them, physically and emotionally, though some were loath to admit it!

The Magician was under a make-shift canopy, nibbling on the remains of last night's feast; as well as the standard nuts and berries, they had sweet fruit as well, and a few fish from the stream close by. It was good not have to produce food from the Hat for once. Even with his new-found confidence with the Hat, for some reason most food he produced was either very securely "pre-packaged" and needed a hacksaw to get into, or well past its sell-by date (Except the hotdogs, but everyone was sick of those).

At one end of the clearing, Hank was sitting beside Sheila, under the shade of a large fir tree. They were close together, rubbing shoulders occasionally, but not staying so close as to arouse too much "suspicion". To a casual onlooker who didn't know them, they looked like friends sitting together having a friendly conversation. But Presto knew better. Actually, all the kids knew better, even Bobby, but no one mentioned it to Hank or Sheila. It seemed nicer to leave them in peace and not tease them. Eric had managed to keep his mouth shut as well.

The Cavalier himself was with Diana, standing together at the far end of the clearing, just out of earshot, fortunately. The Magician wasn't sure what they were supposed to be doing, and he suspected that the Cavalier didn't either, but they were having the usual exchange of put-downs and come-backs from a seemingly inexhaustible supply, and seemed happy enough doing whatever they were doing.

Not far the other way, Bobby was playing fetch with Uni (who was putting a brave face on the situation).

Part of the reason for the calm of the group was undoubtedly the fact that they hadn't seen Dungeonmaster for a couple of weeks, since before entering the City of Ur. Presto himself was quite relieved. It wasn't that they didn't want to find a way home, it was just that they wanted a rest from the constant fighting and chasing and watching a portal disappear just when it was within their grasp.

Each time before they had picked themselves up and bounced right back. It was different with the Locked Portal, but Presto didn't know why.

Not far away, there was the sound of raised voices, and Presto glanced round. The Cavalier and the Acrobat were heading towards him, Eric in a stony silence and Diana seemed to be teasing him about something.

_Looks like he lost the argument. _(Again) _Yes, again. _(Wonder if he'll ever learn?) _Dunno. Don't think so._

But by the time she reached Presto, Diana had obviously decided that Eric had had enough, so she flopped down to the ground beside Presto, and smiled at him. Eric kept standing, but he was looking away, across the clearing to the mountains beyond. There was no need to speak. It was peaceful. Presto gave a small, contented sigh.

It was perfect.

'Greetings, my Young Pupils!'

There was a slight, shocked pause. _Damn it, Presto! You should have known better than to tempt fate like that!_

'Dungeonmaster!' said Diana and Presto together in surprise. Eric just looked at him with a bored, aloof expression on his face, and his arms crossed.

Their Guide bowed. He looked pleased to see them.

The other three heard the cry and looked round. Bobby and Uni quickly came running up, Hank and Sheila followed at a more leisurely pace.

Their Guide waited until all the children had gathered round. He gave them all a good long stare before speaking.

'I come with news of a way home,' he said.

'Well, it's about time!' retorted Eric, putting his hands on his hips. 'What took you so long, anyway?'

Dungeonmaster gave a small shrug.

'I was not sure that the object you need is nearby,' he replied. There was something in Dungeonmaster's tone that made Presto frown. _I don't like the sound of this! _(Me neither!). It took him a couple of seconds to realise why he was uneasy; it was one of the few times Dungeonmaster hadn't known everything, instantly.

The Cavalier seemed to have picked up on that fact as well.

'The Force not working for you today?'

Dungeonmaster chose to ignore him.

'The object you need is called the Orion Lance.'

'Lance?' said Bobby. 'What's a lance?'

'It's a kinda weapon,' said Eric quickly, with an edge of sarcasm.

'And it will show you the way home,' added their guide.

'Where do we find it, Dungeonmaster?' asked Hank.

'It will be difficult to locate,' he replied slowly.

'I expected nothing else,' murmured Eric in a surly tone.

'The Lance was lost, centuries ago. Once, it was carried by a great king. He fought in many wars, and defeated many foes, and he was greatly feared. Then, finally, he was defeated in a great battle of Orcs versus men, one of the greatest and fiercest ever fought in the Realm.'

Presto shivered. All this talk of war and fighting made him uncomfortable.

'Though the King's army was overcome he himself was not killed and he retreated, leading the remnant of his men to this forest.'

'What happened to him?' asked Sheila.

'It is not known for sure,' said their Guide. 'The warriors took refuge from the Orcs in the Caves of the Shadow Mountains,' he gestured to the mountains to in the north, 'and none but four ever came out. The Lance must still be in there, its power sleeping. You must seek it out, and use it.'

They looked round at each other. This was something they had never really done before. Almost all of the portals they had tried to find were in a specific place; they got to the place and they found the Portal. It might be as straightforward as the Golden Grimoire from Darkhaven, you read the book and the portal opened there and then. But , somehow, judging from Dungeonmaster's expression, Presto didn't think it would be that simple.

'But if it's a weapon, how do we use it to get home?' asked Bobby.

'It has great power, Barbarian,' replied Dungeonmaster in a sombre tone.

Bobby looked satisfied with the information, but Eric obviously wasn't. He gave a humph.

'That's not much of an answer!' he snapped. 'How do we get home!'

'Used correctly, it will show you the way home. But beware! For not every one, or everything within the caves is as it seems. Do not wander, or stray far from your friends!'

'Yes, but what do you _mean_!' the Cavalier repeated plaintively.

'What he says!' retorted Diana quickly.

'I know that, I'm not completely dumb! But Dungeonmaster…' Eric stopped suddenly. Presto knew without looking that the guide had gone, it was there in the tone of the Cavalier's voice. Then Eric sighed.

'He's gone,' said Bobby.

'He's really skimping on the information this time!' said Eric. '_It will show you the way home._ That's no help at all! We all live in hope that Dungeonmaster will do the same sometime!'

There was an uncomfortable pause.

'Well,' said Hank at last, 'at least it's another chance to get home. Let's go!'

The Ranger was smiling, and Presto didn't know how he kept his spirits up like this.

'Hank's right,' added Diana with a broad grin. 'C'mon guys! It's a way home!'

The enthusiasm was infectious, and everyone smiled except Eric. At last, under the stares of his friends, the Cavalier grinned too.

'Well, I was getting bored hanging around here anyway!'

Diana snorted, but before she could get a quip in, the Ranger moved off, probably eager to avoid any arguments while he was in such a good mood.

The walk to the foot of the mountains was quiet and uneventful. Sheila and Hank walked in front together, Eric and Diana just behind. Presto was content to walk on his own at the back. He liked it here in the forest and some small part of him was sad to leave the cover of the trees and go out from the muted light and into the sunshine.

It took them the whole morning to get out of the woods, and it was well past lunchtime before they reached the base of the mountains. In front of them was their fist obstacle, there was a sheer cliff about 100 feet tall, and above that, the jagged peaks of rock rose up higher and higher, like rows and rows of vicious, sharp teeth. As last, they ground to a halt near the base. Everyone looked up.

'Well, I for one am not gonna be going over those,' said Eric, voicing the thought that was going through everyone's mind. 'That's unclimbable!'

'Bet Diana could climb it,' chipped in Sheila, with a playful smile.

'Maybe I could if I wanted to,' said Diana, 'But we've gotta find a cave. So I vote with the "no climbing" too!'

'Ok, no climbing,' said Hank, grinning at her. 'Let's see what we can find!'

The group moved to the base of the cliff and walked along in its shadow, all the time looking for any sign of a cave entrance.

'Doesn't seem to be any caves around here!' said Bobby at last. 'You want me to make us a way in?'

Presto saw Hank grimace.

'No, Bobby,' the Ranger said quickly. 'But thanks for the offer!'

'Yeah,' added Eric, 'we don't wanna spend the rest of the day digging ourselves out of a rockfall!'

'Not again,' muttered Diana, with an evil grin. 'But I bet you'd love another chance to save us all, Eric!'

'Ha ha!' snapped the Cavalier. 'You still haven't explained what took you all so long to get me out _last_ time! Hmm?'

The last time was in the Hidden Valley of the Unicorns, and moving the hundreds of tonnes of rock off the Cavalier had been tricky. The Hat had been very useful, and positively cooperative that day. Even so, Eric had spent a long while trapped under the Shield, and he was still annoyed about it. He suspected that the others had been off enjoying themselves instead of helping, which was only partly true!

The Cavalier glared round at his friends, but the look didn't have any real annoyance in it.

'Oh, I don't care!' he said with a sigh. 'Just as long as you don't expect me to do it every day!'

Beside him, Sheila giggled.

'But you did it so well, Eric!'

He scowled.

'We'd better hurry up and find the Caves before I loose my sense of humour. Again!'

'Well, that could be a little cave,' said Diana, pointing. 'There, before that outcrop.'

Presto peered in the direction Diana had shown. (Doesn't look much like a cave) _Looks more like a shadow. _(Looks more like a ravine!)

'I'm not so sure,' said Hank. 'But it's the best potential cave we've seen.'

They all climbed up for a short way, over the loose stone towards the cliff base. There was a very narrow cleft, barely wider bigger than the Hat's length, just before the outcrop that Diana had pointed to.

'It is an opening,' said Hank. He leaned inside and pulled an arrow.

(This is another bad idea) _Everything around here is a bad idea _(There's no way that's gonna take us inside) _That's just wishful thinking!_

'It's dark in here,' the Ranger called. 'There's nothing but grey walls and more shadows. I cant' see the back.' There was a pause as he looked around, then he let the arrow fizzle out and stood up once more. 'I think Diana was right. I think it's a way into the caves.'

Diana gave the Cavalier a smug, knowing smile.

'So, you're gonna to be auditioning for the role as Dungeonmaster next?' Eric asked her and the Acrobat grinned even more widely.

'Well,' said Eric, his grin now tinged with malice, 'In that case, you can go first!'

That suggestion didn't seem to bother Diana as much as Eric had obviously hoped, and the Acrobat wriggled easily through the gap and into the recess beyond.

One by one, they all followed, with Eric predictably getting stuck and scratching his armour.

'Maybe you're not gonna need it anymore,' said Bobby jokingly, as Eric was complaining. 'Maybe we'll get home!'

But Presto caught what everyone else seemed to miss at that statement. The Cavalier suddenly looked empty, but just for a fleeting moment, as if he knew what he was about to say was a lie.

'Yeah, maybe we'll get home.'

'Maybe you should just get yourself some new armour,' Diana said, and the momentary gloom of the Cavalier vanished in a puff of annoyance.

'I keep telling you, there's nothing wrong with my armour!' he snapped.

Diana just sniggered, and walked off into the cave. Everyone followed.

At every moment, Presto expected to find the back wall of the cave, but it seemed like they were in some sort of tunnel. The ground crunched loudly underfoot; the floor was covered in a thick layer of gravel and loose stones. It was difficult to keep their balance, and almost impossible to run.

At first they used the light from Hank's Bow, but Presto soon realised there was another glow in the caves, one with a distinctly greenish tinge, unlike the fiery yellow glow from the arrows.

There were crystals in the walls that weren't reflecting light; they were generating it themselves! Carefully, Presto walked over to the walls for a closer look. Sure enough, the crystals gave off a pale, green light, and Presto pulled on out of the surrounding stone. It was the size of a grapefruit, and quite heavy, but once he'd cleaned it up and removed some of the dirt and lichen, the glow was enough to see by.

The others came up beside him.

'Well done, Presto!' said Hank with a grin. He let the light from the arrow die out, and the light from Presto's stone seemed to grow brighter.

'Al-right! Our own torches!' said Bobby, and pulled a stone out of the wall, too and the others followed suit.

The light for the crystals was bright enough, but it seemed to cast eerie shadows all around them, not helped by the rough and jagged nature of the walls themselves, so it looked as if they were surrounded but dark monsters. Uni whined as she looked around, and pressed herself close to Bobby for protection.

'What's the plan now?' asked Diana 'Shall we split up?'

Hank frowned. It was glaringly obvious to Presto that the Ranger would have loved a chance to go off with Sheila on his own. But there was Dungeonmaster's warning to consider as well, he didn't usually tell them not to wander off! Finally, Hank shook his head.

'No, we should stick together in the caves,' he said. 'We can spread out, though. But don't go too far!'

The last statement was directed at Eric, who gave Hank a blank stare in return.

The tunnel widened out not far ahead into a vast cathedral of stone. Here and there were thick pillars of rock, thicker than the trunks of any tree he'd ever seen, that reached up into the shadows above them.

The sound of their crunching footsteps echoed round so loudly that everyone started to talk in whispers. Walking didn't become any easier as there were still loose stone and pebbles, but they managed well enough.

There was something odd about the caves, and Presto wasn't sure what it was. He didn't like the caves, not that he actually "liked" many places in the Realm, but these caves were claustrophobic, even with the vast space all around him. (Remember the mountains above) _And the cliff_ (And the cliff. It's above us) _All the time. _(All the time) _Let's not think about it. _Presto glanced up. The roof of the cave was a long way up, he imagined he could just make out some stalactites above him. He shivered, still thinking about the impossibly huge amount of rock sitting directly on top of them.

There were deep shadows and variegated patterns on the walls around them and it was difficult to see what is what and to keep an eye on all of the others. Hank and Sheila mostly walked at the back, and everyone spread out. Bobby and Uni played hide and seek in the shadows for a few minutes but quickly tired of it and instead the Barbarian amused himself by pestering Eric. Diana joined in, and Presto was tempted as well. After all, Eric seemed to be in a pretty good mood, and that was always the best time to go and annoy him.

But the Magician just kept on walking, content to be lost in his own thoughts for a while, all the time looking around at the shadows. Everyone was subdued in this place; it was eerie, and quiet (too quiet) _Even with our footsteps._ They'd been forced to travel through any number of caves before, but there was something about this place that felt nasty.

The stones underfoot got thicker, and it was getting increasingly difficult to walk in a straight line. Even the sure-footed Acrobat was having trouble.

Slowly the floor began to rise, and soon they were walking on the edge of the stony ridge of a huge miniature mountain of pebbles, and constantly sinking ankle-deep into the scree. It was hard work, and in the still, moist air of the caves, Presto was getting uncomfortably warm.

He was a away ahead of the others, still lost in his own thoughts, wondering where they were going and pondering Dungeonmaster's riddle when there was a soft noise behind him that made him jump. He whipped round as fast as he could, thinking there was something unpleasant creeping up behind him and lost his footing on the loose stones. As he twisted round, trying to regain his balance, he slipped again and fell backward, sliding down the slope into the darkness as the base.

'Presto!' shouted Diana.

He had no chance to stop himself. In a rush of crunching stones, he slid out of sight of the others. The crystal was knocked from his hand and his glasses were torn from his face. For about twenty seconds he tumbled down the scree slope, unable to stop himself and unable to see where he was going. At last he ground to a halt, his momentum spent, at the very bottom of the pebble-mountain. Under his hands he could feel smooth, hard rock, rather than loose stone.

The Magician rubbed his head slowly, and tried to brush some of the dirt off his robes. He could hear voices above him, but he was dizzy and disorientated, and annoyed about loosing his glasses, yet again! The shadows were much thicker here, as if they had embraced darkness to eat away any source of light.

The others were calling for him, and he was able to shout back a quick "I'm ok".

'Don't worry, we'll get you back up!' called Hank.

The Magician frowned, not really sure he wanted to go all the way back up to the top, it had been a long fall, after all. He could make out a squidgy glow from nearby that was presumably his light-crystal. Before he could go and get it, he had to make sure he could see properly, and he couldn't decided what to do next without knowing where he was. He needed his glasses, so he pulled out the Hat to cast a quick spell.

_Abraca-dum, Abraca-dee, I'd like some glasses, to help me see!_

The Hat gave a slight glow, and for a brief moment Presto had the familiar sinking feeling that it wasn't gonna work, and he was going to get a set of champagne flutes, so something. But before the glow grew too bright, it suddenly stopped.

Just at that moment, a familiar voice in the darkness spoke out to him and his glasses were pushed into his hand.

'I am glad it is you, Magician! I am glad to see you!'

The voice was so quiet, and Presto was so surprised, that he didn't reply. Of course, he recognised their Guide immediately. It wasn't so much the voice, as the magic. It _felt_ like Dungeonmaster.

Through the low gloom a small figure stepped out of the shadows. It was indeed Dungeonmaster, but he was looking very grave and concerned. (He looks afraid as well!).

'I come with a warning for you, Magician,' the old man continued. 'All is not well above. It is as I feared, that in spite of my warning one of your number has already been captured. But even I cannot be sure which one without proof.'

Above, he heard all his friends shouting his name. He recognised them all; Hank, Sheila, Eric, Diana and Bobby. He could even hear Uni's frantic bray. What was Dungeonmaster talking about?

'Captured? But Dungeonmaster…?'

There was a dim glow of light from above, probably from one of Hank's arrow, and it illuminated the old man's face. Presto gasped. It looked to old and haggard, and the eyes were filled with sadness.

The old man put a hand on his shoulder, Presto could feel the power of all Dungeonmaster's magic in that one gesture.

'Beware, Magician! And, until you are sure, trust no one!'

'N-no o-one…?'

But Dungeonmaster had gone.

* * *


	2. Unanswerable Questions

Chapter 2

Unanswerable Questions

The Magician looked frantically about him through the gloom of the caves, hoping against all reason that Dungeonmaster would reappear and explain.

_Trust no one! One of your number has already been captured!_

What did the old man mean? _What was going on!_ (And why does he always have to disappear like that!).

Presto was barely paying attention to the voices calling to him from above, in fact he was barely paying attention to anything at all as his mind was racing. _Captured? Who by?_ (Which one?) _What did Dungeonmaster mean? _(I don't understand). But as he looked around, he saw something that pulled his attention momentarily away from their Guide and his new riddle: There was another exit from the cave. Not far from where he was standing there was a low doorway cut into the stone of the cave wall.

He only had the low light of his crystal to light the cave, so it was difficult to see properly with all the long, dark shadows. But the more he looked, the more sure he became. It was the way the rock had been cut; it didn't seem to be natural. There were sharp angles with a neat precision, and it could only mean it had been made by intelligent creatures. He stared at it for a few seconds, trying to decide if he was imagining things.

No, he was sure. That was a doorway. He was _certain_.

Above him, the others were still calling down, their tone more frantic than before, and Presto realised he'd not been replying to their questions.

'I'm ok,' he called up. 'I'm fine! Don't worry!'

There where murmurs from above.

'Well, what took you so long?' called Eric in a sarcastic tone, and Presto braced himself for the next caustic comment. 'Did you get lost?'

Presto frowned. That wasn't a very good joke. At least, it was not what he'd expected Eric to say. Suddenly Presto thought of what Dungeonmaster had told him, and there was a cold unpleasant tickle down his spine. _One of your number has already been captured_.

But he could still make out their voices. All their voices, even Uni's petulant bray. It made no sense.

He glanced back to the doorway carved into the rock.

'Guys! Hey, guys,' he called. 'I think I've found another way to go. Come down and have a look!'

There was a short pause.

'What did you find?' asked Hank.

'Another tunnel,' Presto replied. 'Man-made. Or something-made, at least.'

There was a pause and the murmur of voices, then Hank called:

'Ok, we're on our way down.'

There was the crunch of stones and one by one the rest of the kids appeared, sliding down the side of the stone slope, some more successfully than others, with Eric, predictably sliding down face first.

They all picked themselves up and dusted themselves off. For a few moments, everything seemed ok. (Normal)._ Too normal_. Presto watched them all, his gaze moving restlessly from one to another; Hank, Sheila, Bobby, Diana, Eric. _One of your number had already been captured_.

'Presto? Are you listening?' asked the Ranger.

He hadn't heard a word the others had said, but he could guess what the Ranger wanted and pointed to the door.

'Way to go, Presto!' said Eric with a theatrical sigh. 'Another tunnel!'

'And here was I thinking you liked tunnels,' replied Diana.

'Ha ha,' the Cavalier said flatly as the others laughed too, in the happy and relaxed way they all did when teasing the Cavalier.

There was nothing odd that Presto could instantly place, but he suddenly shivered. According to Dungeonmaster, one of them wasn't who they were supposed to be. But everything seemed fine.

None of the others noticed his discomfort, and they headed off towards the new tunnel.

Presto stared after them. What had Dungeonmaster meant? _One of your number has already been captured… But even I cannot be sure which one without proof._

How could one of them was already be "captured"! All of them were here. It didn't make any sense! _When has Dungeonmaster ever made sense! _(How can one of them be missing if they're all here!)

He suddenly knew the answer: A double. A Doppelganger. It was obvious!

Presto gave an involuntary shudder. He'd heard about those creatures before. No one knew what they looked like when they were alone, but they were almost perfect mimics, able to assume the form of whoever they liked. They could look and talk like the person they were imitating, and no one would be any the wiser.

The kids had been resting in the clearing for a few days, and that would be plenty of time for a Doppelganger to spy on them, and learn enough background information to pass themselves off as one of his friends. It would have been simple to lure one of them away in the shadowy caves, and take their place.

'Hey, Presto! You alright?' It was Diana, the others were already a fair distance ahead. 'Come on!'

The Magician gave a guilty start, and automatically moved forward, following them through the doorway into the tunnels beyond.

But his first thought was why Diana had called and not Sheila. Sheila was usually the one to notice if someone was left behind. Hank should have noticed too. Possibly even Eric, since he was much more alert these days. How about…

(Stop it, Presto! This isn't helping!) _But which one is it? _(I don't know!) _Neither do I! _(Well, figure it out!) _Yes, I will, I can, _(Just do it quickly!)

And there was always the question of what had happened to the person that had been replaced! There was no way he could go back now, he'd never be able to explain it, he'd never persuade Hank to go back anyway with out an explanation. He had no idea where to look, he had no idea who he was looking for. And, besides, if the Doppelganger realised he knew… well…

Once more, Presto shuddered, suddenly a lot more worried. He had to do something. Quickly! He had to figure out who was who as fast as he could.

Obviously, talking to them would work, eventually, but the Doppelganger would quickly realise something was up when he started talking about school and home and shared memories. And it could get dangerous, or violent. He had to work out what was going on without raising any suspicions.

The only other way he could think of was the weapons.

He didn't really understand how the magic of their weapons worked, but he did know it was as if the weapons had been made for them, and them alone. He couldn't use the Bow or the Shield, even if he had wanted to, the Bow belonged to the Ranger, the Shield belonged to the Cavalier.

True, Venger's Lizardmen had used them in the Prison of Agony, but he'd always assumed that that had been the Arch-Mage's doing; that he could somehow manipulate the magic inside them. After all with those weapons, he was supposed to be invincible! Certainly, no one else _should_ ever be able to use the weapons.

_That's it! That's our plan?_ (It's the best I can do.) _You don't even know if it will work!_ (It's the best plan I can think up!). Presto frowned, trying to remember Dungeonmaster's sudden appearance earlier. Their Guide had appeared just after he'd cast the spell to find his glasses. He had been using the Hat, and the Hat had worked, in a sense, at least it had glowed! (Perhaps it's not so silly after all) _And it's the best plan I have._

Of course, it _seemed_ simple. All he had to do was get them to us their weapons.

But somehow, he knew it was going to be easier said than done.

The tunnel they were walking along was long, and low and straight. The rest of the Young Ones were a long way ahead, and Presto had to start jogging to try and catch up. As he ran, for the fist time he looked around at where he was. The tunnel was smooth and easy to walk side-by-side, but fairly narrow, so they couldn't walk as a group. Bobby and Uni were side by side at the front, the Barbarian petted her from time to time, as she didn't like tunnels.

Hank was walking very close beside Sheila, no surprise there. Presto could tell they were still talking, but so quietly he couldn't hear what they were talking about. Diana walked just behind, looking enquiringly around. Finally, Eric sloped along at the back, also his usual position.

If he was gonna find out what Dungeonmaster's riddle was about, he had to start right away. _This is your chance. _(Don't mess it up!) _What am I gonna say? _(Um… it's Eric. Just make it up as you go!)

Feeling giddy with nerves, Presto fell into step beside the Cavalier.

They walked in silence for a short while, with Presto growing more uneasy every second. The Cavalier seemed unperturbed by his presence, so eventually Presto had to speak.

'Hey, Eric,' he manage. _Well done. A fantastic start!_

The Cavalier flashed him a quick smile, but didn't reply.

'Um…' (Quick. Think of something to say) 'this tunnel's very dark.' _Oh, crap!_

Eric looked at him, his eyebrow flicked up.

'That would be because we're underground, Presto' he replied without a smile.

'Yeah…' Presto trailed off. (This is harder than I thought!)

They walked on in silence, Presto slowly getting more embarrassed.

'Look, Presto,' said Eric at last. 'It's not that I'm not enjoying this conversation. But did you want something specific, or are you just trying to annoy me?'

'Um…' _Think fast! _'Um, I wondered… about… um… I wondered about the riddle.'

'The riddle?' Eric gave a huge scowl. 'What riddle! Mr Cryptic has really struck out this time!' When he next spoke, he was mimicking Dungeonmaster's voice. 'Do this, find that, find a Lance, find a tree, blah, blah, blah.' Eric turned to Presto, the scowl still on his face. 'He doesn't know what he's talking about!'

Presto nodded slowly. Eric had said as much earlier.

'Yes,' persisted the Magician. 'He is a bit confusing, remember when…' Presto stopped suddenly. This was far too obvious!

Eric had scowled at Presto.

'Of course they're confusing. That's why they're called "riddles" y'know, Presto.'

The Magician gave a weak smile. This was going wrong. Maybe he should try speaking to someone else!

He walked beside Eric for a little longer, before speeding up, intending to talk to one of the others.

Diana was in front of them. Presto liked Diana, she was easy to talk too, and it should be easy to get talking to her. (It should be!) Once again, he fell into step beside her. Unlike Eric, she gave him a little grin as he appeared at her side.

'Are you ok Presto?' Diana asked.

He stared at her, suddenly worried. What had he done wrong? How did she know?

'Wh… I mean, I'm fine,' he spluttered.

'It's just you seem a little distracted.'

'Oh, that's all!' he said with a sigh. 'I'm fine! Really!'

'Walking along tunnels, looking for a way home. What is there not to be happy about,' she said.

Presto gave Diana a smile, and she smiled back.

There had been something missing in that smile for a long time. Since Turad.

But today there was something a bit brighter (maybe shinier is a better word) about her smile.

Under other circumstances he would have been pleased. But not today. The fact that there was something odd today just made everything more suspicious!

Her Javelin was tucked into her belt as usual, if he glanced down he could just make out a small bit of it sticking out at the top. His plan had been to get them using their weapons, but so far he'd not had any success. He frowned, then almost walked straight into Hank.

They had stopped!

He hadn't been paying much attention to anything else, but it was obvious why they'd stopped as the tunnel had turned into a vast, echoing cave.

They were close to one wall, and nearby there seemed to be a deep ravine. As he squinted into the shadows, he was fairly sure there was a flickering light, like that of a fire, somewhere ahead. But there was no path, as the floor of the cave was strewn with rough rocks, and they would have to walk very carefully if they were to go on.

He looked around slowly, a heavy, sinking feeling inside him. This was all going wrong. He'd seen Dungeonmaster ages ago and he'd made absolutely no progress in finding out what was going on. All he had managed to do was annoy Eric and get even more suspicious!

Why hadn't he tried to get them to use their weapons? That had been his plan, but somehow it just didn't seem to work. It should be _easy! _

'Presto?'

He gave a start, and realised everyone was staring at him. They seemed to be expecting him to say something as well!

'Presto? Are you ok?' It was Diana. 'And are you listening?'

Presto nodded, aware that there was a blank expression on his face.

'So, what do you think it is?'

He stared at her. _Oh, crap! _(What were they talking about?)

Then he heard something, a distant, high-pitched squeak, and a faint rustling from high up in the shadows. Was that what they were talking about?

'He's got no idea!' snapped Eric. 'There could be anything over there!'

'Huh?' managed Presto, unfortunately out loud, but fortunately, no one was listening to him.

'We'll have to go and look,' said Hank. 'And we don't seem to be any nearer finding the Lance.'

'Oh, yeah,' drawled the Cavalier sarcastically. 'The _Lance!_'

The bitter, angry tone wasn't what the Magician had expected, and he didn't like it.

'What are we going to do now, Hank?' asked Bobby.

'Keep going,' was the reply. 'There's not much else we can do!'

'How can we be sure this is the way we're supposed to go?' asked the Barbarian.

Hank shrugged, and it was Sheila who answered her brother.

'He did say it wouldn't be easy to find,' she said.

'But it could be anywhere!' the Barbarian said plaintively. 'How are we gonna find it under the whole of the mountains?'

There was no good reply to that, and nobody attempted one.

'We had better keep going,' said Sheila. 'An now we're here we shouldn't turn back.'

The others all seemed to agree.

'Come on then,' said Hank. 'Let's see what we can find.'

He had tried to sound enthusiastic, but he hadn't quite pulled it off. The Magician stared at him, unsure as to what to say. Then he had a great idea. It was a chance to get Hank to use the Bow!

'Why don't we get more light,' said Presto suddenly, staring at Hank.

'Good idea! You should try the Hat,' the Ranger replied. He gave Presto a friendly, reassuring smile.

Now Presto was stuck. He wanted to say that he'd meant light from the Bow, but he didn't dare say that! It would look too suspicious!

Slowly, he pulled the Hat off his head and started to wave his hand over it.

_Abracadabra, show us the way; let us have light to turn night into day!_

But he knew something was going to go wrong, his mind was too distracted. The magic just didn't feel right and when his Hat made a sharp hissing noise he flinched and closed his eyes, holding it away at arms length. Without any more warning the Hat shuddered and something exploded out of it. Even with his eyes closed, he knew whatever the Hat had produced, it was very bright.

'Ow!'

'Argh!'

'My eyes!'

'Pres-to!'

'That hurt!'

'Mee-ug!'

He opened his eyes slightly. It was still dark, and the others were all blinking hard, as if their eyes were sore.

'Thanks Presto!' said Eric sharply. 'Now we can see even less!'

'Ignore him, Presto,' said Diana. 'He wouldn't know what to do even if he could see properly!'

'It was a good try,' said Hank, rubbing his eyes.

_Great! Just great!_

'We had better just go towards the light over there,' the Ranger continued, pointing at the pale, flickering glow ahead that Presto had noticed earlier. 'The crystals should give us enough light to see with.'

None of the others disagreed, though Eric cast a dark look in the Magician's direction. Even though Presto wanted to say something, he didn't. Instead, he stared into the gloom feeling even worse than before.

'I'm having a terrible day,' he muttered as everyone started to move away.

The Acrobat must have heard him, and she suddenly put her arm round his shoulders, just as Eric breezed past them.

'Are you sure you're ok, Presto,' she asked.

Was he being paranoid, or was she being more friendly than usual? Certainly, she didn't seem _that _interested in him at the moment as, instead of looking at him for an answer she just looked ahead to Hank, Sheila and Eric.

'I'm fine,' he muttered.

'You're acting very oddly.'

'Am I?' He was tempted to add "and so are you!", but he didn't.

'So, you're sure?'

At that moment, he desperately wanted to tell her everything. He wanted someone to talk to, and confide in, and help! But Dungeonmaster's warning was ringing in his ears, and he forced himself to nod.

'Everything's fine.'

The Acrobat seemed satisfied with that answer and walked off after the others, leaving Presto more miserable than before.

Aware that his unusual behaviour had been noticed, as least by someone, Presto quickly followed the others, trying to appear his usual, happy self.

But inside, he wanted to scream in his frustration. They all seemed either completely normal, or entirely suspicious, depending on how you looked at it! He hated all this suspicion!

Logically, Hank would be the obvious choice for the Doppelganger to copy; he was the leader, and could lead them anywhere he wanted. They all trusted him. Hank hadn't wanted to use the bow for more light, and he'd looked at Presto instead. _And we al know how well that worked out! _Neither Eric nor Diana had given him any _really_ big reason to feel suspicious; well, they had, but then they could both be having weird days at the same time.

It could have been Bobby, as the Barbarian seemed quieter than usual, just trudging along next to Uni. Presto had never spent much time talking to Bobby. It wasn't that he didn't like him, but it was more that they had so very little in common, apart from being stuck in the Realm together. And then there was Sheila; she'd been a little preoccupied since they'd left the clearing, and she was often deep in conversation with Hank. That suddenly looked very suspicious. Was she, in fact, digging for information from their leader?

_This is impossible! _(I agree!) _But there's got to be something I can do to figure it out. _(The weapons, you should try harder) _But they're gonna figure out what I'm up to! Remember Hank. _(Still the best plan I have!) _Oh… great!_

The group picked their way slowly over the rock and uneven ground with no accidents, Bobby carried Uni for most of the way as the unicorn was having trouble with the stones and was slowing them all down. As they walked, it became clear that the faint light ahead was a fiery torch. That was the good news. The bad news was that it was at the end other cave, and the only way forward was over a "bridge" that spanned the ravine. And the worse news was that the "bridge" itself was just a thin ridge of rock carved out of the stone of the mountain.

(And it has no rails) _Why do they build them like that? _(Maybe railings haven't been invented in this world!) _Probably not. _(So if we're ever stuck for cash and need a great, new invention, that would be a sure-fire hit!)

The kids stopped by the start of the bridge, and Hank leaned forward to look down into the ravine.

'Don't tell me,' murmured Eric.

'I can't see the bottom!' said Hank.

'I told you NOT to tell me!' the Cavalier snapped. 'It would have been SO much easier if I didn't know!'

Diana snorted a little laugh.

'Cavalier logic! The worst kind!'

'Let's get going,' said Presto, feeling suddenly uncomfortable standing there. He felt exposed, and the more they talked about crossing, the more nervous he was getting!

'Presto's right,' said Diana. 'We should get going!'

So without hesitation, and with her head held high, the Acrobat walked out onto the bridge.

Everyone watched as she strolled casually across, as easily as if she was crossing the street. Then she turned, and held her hands up with a flourish.

'Easy,' she said. 'Even Eric could do it!'

Before any of the others could move, the Cavalier, obviously goaded into action by Diana, stepped forward. He too walked with his head held high, trying to copy the Acrobat, but he wasn't nearly as confident, and couldn't disguise the fact that he was hating every second of the crossing.

The uncomfortable feeling was growing steadily inside Presto. He glanced up. _Did something just move up there?_

'Um, did anyone else see that?'

Hank, Sheila, Bobby and Uni all glanced up too.

'What is it?' asked Sheila in a whisper.

'Better not wait to find out!' said Hank, taking her arm. 'Get going!'

'Bobby!' Sheila turned to her brother. 'You next.'

The Barbarian almost argued, but must have noticed the stern look on his sister's face. He picked up the unicorn and walked slowly out over the bridge. Sheila watched nervously all the time.

Sheila went next, keeping her eyes firmly fixed ahead.

She was just under half way when Presto heard something close by, a soft peep or whistle. Hank heard it too, and both boys instantly looked up.

In the dark shadows above, there seemed to be something moving, swooping down towards them, and more specifically, Sheila, exposed out on the bridge.

'Sheila!' cried Hank. 'Look out!'

The Thief sprinted forward, she seemed to be reaching for her Cloak, but she staggered very close to the edge before she could pull it up and had to right herself.

Then his attention was distracted away from her by Hank, giving him a shove towards the bridge.

'Presto, go!'

The Magician glanced upwards just as something bat-like, with small pointed teeth flashed past, it's wings sending a gust of wind to buffet them.

'Go!' Hank told him, giving him a shove. 'Quick!'

Presto was forced to run on, he wanted to slow down and make sure he didn't trip over the hem of his robe, but the wind-noises behind were getting closer. He also wanted to turn round and see if Hank was using the Bow to firing arrows at their attackers, but he didn't dare. Presto could hear Hank's footsteps just behind him.

Above him, there was the whoosh of wings and another high-pitched peep.

'Run!' shouted the Ranger.

Suddenly, something swooped down from his right, a huge black shape. Presto had the fleeting impression of thick leathery wings and the smell of blood. Instinctively, he ducked down, just in time as whatever it was missed his shoulders by micrometers.

'Run!' someone shouted. 'There're more of them!'

Stumbling, Presto somehow managed not to trip up and fall, but ran on the last few feet to the other side of the bridge. The others had found a good hiding place, a small tunnel entrance very close by, and Presto headed for that, with Hank close behind.

Then, unexpectedly, there was a chorus of shrill high-pitched screams, followed a moment later by the tremendous crash of breaking rock.

Presto was aware that something else was there with them; whatever had attacking them was now in full retreat! _That's not good! _He glanced up for a moment, to see a huge dark shadow looming somewhere above.

There was virtually no time to do anything except try and run, but suddenly something struck Presto across his chest, knocking the breath out of him and knocking him clean off his feet. The next instant a shower of rock cascaded down in front of him. Then there was a sharp pain in his head, and nothing more.

* * *


	3. A Shot in the Dark

Chapter 3

A Shot in the Dark

There was the sound of giggling.

(That was odd) _There shouldn't be giggling. _(Are you sure?) _Yes! Of course I'm sure… I think._

The giggling grew louder.

_There really shouldn't be giggling. _(But there is). _I know. But there shouldn't be _(And it's dark)_. And my head hurts. _(This is a familiar feeling, you know!) _It's the headache that's the give away._ (Why does this always happen?)

He could remember a narrow bridge, and running, and a horrifically long drop down into nothing. There had been big, nasty, flying things (I think they're called "bats" actually, Presto) and then something else had appeared, something huge.

But that didn't explain how he had been knocked unconscious.

He lay still, keeping his eyes closed, trying to remember what had happened. After a few moments he realised that they giggling that had woken him had died away, leaving a low hiss behind.

_Presto. _(Hmm…?) _Presto? _(W-what) _Presto! C'mon, wake up! _(But…) 'Presto. Please wake up!'

'Presto! Please wake up!'

He couldn't really recognise the voice. It was familiar, and he knew he should know who's it was, but everything was still very fuzzy.

'C'mon Presto, open your eyes.'

Now he came to try, the Magician realised how difficult it actually was to prise his eyelids apart. It was as if they'd been glued shut. Instead, he tried to move slightly, and a shooting pain came through his arm. He tried to say something, but when he spoke he could only hear a distance "Uh" noise.

_What's going on?_

'That's right Presto, but take it easy.'

'Uh…'

Something cool was pressed against his forehead, and the sudden change in temperature made him twitch. He tried once again to move, to pull whatever it was away, but his arms were too heavy, and too sore.

'Whiz-aah?'

'It's ok Presto, we're safe, for the moment. Try to keep still and regain your strength. Here.'

A small cup was pressed against his lips, and he tasted water, lovely ice-cold water. But that wasn't the only thing he could taste. He could taste blood too.

(I'm not sure I want to wake up anymore) _Me either._

Something bad had obviously happened. But the others were bound to be safe. They really didn't need him to… _In spite of my warning one of your number has already been captured. But even I cannot be sure which one without proof.'_

He spluttered the water, choking, as Dungeonmaster's words came back to him.

(Oh, yes) _I'd forgotten about that…_

'Presto! Are you ok!'

That voice suddenly sent a chill through him. He knew who it was.

'Are you ok?' asked Hank gently. 'Presto?'

His thought from earlier came back to him: Logically, Hank would be the obvious choice for the Doppelganger; he was the leader, and could lead them anywhere he wanted. They all trusted him.

Ignoring the stickiness of his eyes, Presto prised his eyes open.

He was in a small, gloomy cave, but even in the low light he could clearly see that winning, "Hank" smile was wide across the other boy's face, possibly trying to reassure the Magician. But it only served to make Presto more worried. He pulled back in fright.

'Take it easy Presto! It's me!'

'H-Hank?'

The smile grew wider. Presto looked past the Ranger into the gloom behind, but he couldn't see anyone else. They were alone. _This isn't good!_

'Thank goodness you're ok!' said Hank with a sigh. 'I was starting to get really worried!'

Presto was sorely tempted to add that he was already really worried, but he didn't have the strength. Besides, he needed to keep calm, and try to think logically.

But it was difficult to get past the fact that his arm and head hurt; and the fact that this Hank could be the Doppelganger. He could be alone with a Doppelganger! Trying hard not to panic, Presto took as deep a breath as he could. He needed a chance to think. He had to buy himself some time.

'What happened?' he asked cautiously.

'Well, what do you remember?' Presto shrugged in reply. 'Do you remember the bats?'

The Magician nodded gently, so as not to make himself feel any more sore or dizzy. Yes, He definitely remember the bats. (Great big bats!) _With big, pointy teeth! _(Nasty)

'There was something else there too,' Hank said, now sounding more worried. 'I didn't see it properly, but it was big. And dangerous.'

'What about the others,' Presto said. 'What happened to them?' It was odd, shouldn't Hank have been worried about them first…

But then he saw the deep, creased frown on Hank's face.

'I don't know,' he said. 'It all happened too fast. The bridge started to give way, and we had to run.'

_Oh, yes. The bridge! _He could remember that all right. He'd almost fallen off. (Haven't they invented guardrails here yet?) Hank was still talking.

'Well, whatever it was, when it saw us it tried to bring part of the cave wall down to stop us getting out.'

Presto gulped. That sounded really dangerous!

'No one had much of a chance to react, not even Sheila could use the Cloak,' continued Hank, not noticing Presto's reaction. 'I didn't really see what happened to them, but since they were ahead of us, I think they got out ok. I hope so, anyway. I don't know…'

Hank had looked away, looking behind Presto, with an unpleasant expression on his face. Presto slowly pushed himself up, his body aching, and turned to look at what Hank was staring at.

Even in the dim light, Presto could see exactly what was worrying the Ranger; behind him was a wall of boulders that blocked the whole of the tunnel behind them. Presto turned back, noticing that the view didn't change. There were rocks all around them. In fact, there were rocks everywhere.

There was no way out.

He looked at Hank, seeing his own fear mirrored on his friend's face. But before he could say anything reassuring or helpful to Hank he suddenly remembered what Dungeonmaster had said: _one of your number has already been captured_! It could easily be Hank, after all a Doppelganger would be just as worried about getting out!

Desperately, the Magician grasped for a way of getting Hank talking again,

'Hey, we got out of Ur!' he blurted out, hoping this would get a reaction and help make some progress in figuring out if Hank was really "Hank".

But the Ranger's reaction wasn't what Presto expected, either from a real Hank or a double. The boy just frowned.

'Yeah, he muttered, 'we got outta Ur.'

'What's wrong, Hank?' Presto had spoken before his mind had caught up with what was going on.

'I just… wanted to get home.'

The admission took Presto by complete surprise. He understood, completely, and for a moment he was sure his fears were unfounded. _But wouldn't a Doppelganger know enough about us to know what to say?_ (And know what Hank would say?) _But he sounds so sad! _(It could be and act.) _It could all be an act!_

Presto shivered at the thought that the boy sitting beside him was just acting and was saying just what he was expected to say. For a moment, he remembered the time, with the Cloud Bears when he thought that Hank had betrayed them to Venger. That feeling of being stabbed in the back by a friend was suddenly just as strong as it had been. He hated that feeling. He trusted Hank, he thought he knew Hank, so surely he would know if this was the real deal, or an impostor.

They faced each other in the gloom, Presto feeling more wretched than he could have imagined in this situation. He couldn't go on with this suspicion. This person in front of him looked like Hank, he acted and spoke like Hank, with all his soul, Presto believed that this was _Hank_.

Despite Dungeonmaster's words, he had to know if that really was Hank. He had to know. There was only one way to be sure.

'Hank,' he said. 'Pull an arrow.'

The Ranger looked distrustfully at Presto.

'Why? What's wrong?'

Presto gulped. _Maybe you're wrong! _(Maybe you're right). _I have to know!_

'Am I you're friend?' asked Presto.

'Of course!'

'Do you trust me?'

'Of course, Presto! What's…'

'Just pull and arrow. Please.'

Hank stared at him for a long moment, a frown of concern across his face. Presto stared back, willing him to _do_ as he asked and just pull an arrow.

Suddenly, Hank smiled.

'Ok, Presto. I don't understand, but if you want an arrow, you got it!'

He picked the Bow up from the ground where it had been lying. The moment Hank picked it up, the weapon gave off a very faint glimmer and Presto's heart leaped. Within moments there was a huge, glowing arrow lighting the cave with a brilliant gold glow.

Nothing had ever looked so good, and Presto closed his eyes, giving a small sigh. It was Hank! He'd been right!

When he opened his eyes, Hank was smiling, but obviously confused.

'What's going on, Presto?' he asked. 'You gonna tell me what's up!'

This was going to be the difficult part, how could he explain his doubts and his mistrust?

The Magician took a few moments to try and think of a good way to start. The last thing he wanted to do was offend Hank!

'I saw Dungeonmaster,' he said at last, 'after I fell. He said that one of you guys had been captured, and he couldn't tell which.' Hank's face darkened in confusion, as to him all of his friends had been there. 'Yeah, that's what I thought, you were all there, so one of you must have been replaced.'

'A Doppelganger,' murmured Hank. 'You thought one of us was a Doppelganger.' There was a pause. 'You thought I was a Doppelganger.'

He didn't say it in an accusatory way, but Presto felt wretched anyway. He hung his head slightly, and nodded.

'It's ok, Presto,' said the Ranger, putting his hand on the Magician's shoulder. 'I understand. It must have been tough.'

'I didn't know what to do,' he said. 'You guys just seemed to be acting all weird! I made no progress with figuring out who was how. It could be any of them!'

'Well, it can't be Sheila,' said Hank firmly.

Presto hesitated. That wasn't what he'd thought earlier! It could have been anyone of the others! Hank noticed his reluctance to answer, and scowled.

'But it _might_ be,' Presto forced himself to say. 'We won't know unless she can use her weapon.'

The scowl stayed were it was. It was clear that Hank knew that there was nothing that actually proved his statement, but still Presto could see that it wasn't a pleasant thought for the Ranger.

In the short silence that followed, hank started looking around at the gloomy cave, his scowl now just a frown. Presto could take a good guess at what Hank was thinking; he was thinking the same thing. They had to get out of there, and find the others. Then they could worry about Doppelgangers.

'I wonder what it wants,' said Presto at last. 'The Doppelganger, I mean.'

'I guess it wants the same thing as us,' replied Hank with a heavy sigh. 'The Lance!'

'I wonder what else the Lance can do, expect point the way home,' murmured Presto. 'I mean, it if was a weapon, maybe it has extra powers as well.'

Presto looked around again, at the wall of boulders behind them.

'And how are we gonna get out?' he asked.

Hank looked as if he had been waiting for Presto to say something about that. He glanced down at the ground, to where the Hat was lying in a crumpled pile.

'You think the Hat will work?' asked Hank hopefully. 'I don't want to risk firing an arrow with all those loose rocks'

Presto nodded, and tried to give Hank a confidant smile. He reached down to the Hat and tentatively looked inside it. It was empty.

'I'm sure I can come up with something,' he said. _Something good would be nice for a change! _(Or at least something that doesn't make it worse!)

He waved his hand over the Hat staring at the huge mountain of loose rubble that blocked their exit, trying to think of the right way to phrase "just get us out of here!" without being transported to somewhere even worse. The Hat glowed in a friendly, reassuring way.

"Abraca-day! Get those rocks out our way!"

A few moments passed, and Hank was looking at him curiously. The rocks behind them hadn't moved, not even an inch. The Ranger was about to say something, when suddenly his expression changed and a smile spread over his face.

He pointed to Presto's left.

'Look! It's gone!'

Presto turned to look at what Hank was pointing at, and grinned. There was a narrow hole in the wall behind them, leading away from the rock fall. It looked like the wall itself had only been a foot thick. The Hat had just found the easiest way to get out!

'Cool!' he said, with a sigh of relief.

'I'll go first,' Hank said, pulling an arrow to give off, lighting the cave with a soft gold glow. 'Follow carefully.'

Presto was about to say something about being fine, but then he tried to move. A sharp pain ran over his chest and down his arm. He gasped, and Hank was immediately by his side.

'You gonna be ok, Presto?'

The Magician nodded slowly.

'I'm fine, I'll be fine.' (Oh, really?) _This hurts! _(Everywhere!)

He moved to his knees and started to crawl gently forward, making sure his didn't put too much weight on his left arm, and followed Hank through the hole in the rock wall. The gentle glow from the crystals in the wall all around made him feel better; though it wasn't bright there was enough light to make sure they didn't fall down any holes or trip up, or anything else, and Presto was relieved not to have to conjure anything quite at the moment.

The emerged into another tunnel that was clearer and smoother than the last one. It sloped gently upwards to the right, and as they stood still, Presto could almost imaging a slight waft of fresh air coming from somewhere ahead.

It seemed better to both of them to start climbing, and so they turned right and headed up the tunnel.

It didn't take long for the slope to level out, and they came to a high but narrow cave. Hank stopped and looked around warily.

'I don't like it,' he whispered at last. 'I keep hearing strange noises. Don't you?'

'Um, well, not really,' admitted Presto, not liking to lie. 'But it does feel kinda creepy.'

Hank nodded.

'Let's go on, carefully.'

They crept forward, their pace slowing to a virtual stop. Every now and again, Presto would hear something very faintly, almost like someone laughing. Or crying.

After the first cave came another, and another, each one getting bigger and more convoluted, so it was increasingly difficult to keep track of where they were and where they had come from. Often Presto was afraid that they were just going round in circles, but Hank seemed to know what he was doing.

Suddenly, the Ranger stopped.

The strange whispery noise was clearer, and Presto was sure that it was the sound of voices ahead. But they were not happy, whoever they were.

The cave they were in flattened out near what seemed to be another archway into yet another cave, but it was difficult to make out exactly from where they were.

'You hear it?' asked Hank. Presto nodded. 'We need to get closer.'

Presto nodded once again, and the two boys crept slowly forward. The exit turned into a very short tunnel, and then it widened out once more. But this time it wasn't a normal cave they found themselves in. Apart from the sheer sides and the glittering rock, there was also a well-worn path, and a tiny village, all lit with a dim, baleful greenish light.

Hank and Presto looked at each other in surprise. This was the last thing either of them expected.

The voices were louder and clearer now they were close to the village.

Treading as quietly as they could, the two of them moved forward toward the source of the noises. Presto was sure he could make out words, and with that came the growing idea that they were actually on the way to finding the others. He couldn't be totally positive of course, but the voice sounded whiney enough to be Eric. It seemed that Hank agreed, and he was grinning!

The voices grew louder as they moved forward. The voices of their friends were clearly audible, especially Eric, as well as a few others Presto didn't recognise. There seemed to be some sort of debate going on, judging by the intensity of the sound.

Hank looked at him with a frown.

'This doesn't sound good,' he whispered to the Magician. 'I wonder what's going on.'

They popped their heads carefully round the corner of the nearby house, hoping to get a chance to see their friends.

It was difficult to see clearly in the low light, but there was a gathering of people; maybe "creatures" was a better description!

They were small, shorter than Gnomes or Dwarves, and very thin and gangly, but humanoid nevertheless. They were dressed in scruffy rags with ill-fitting shoes. They were huddled together, babbling in loud voices.

'The others are here somewhere,' whispered Hank. 'We've gotta find them as quickly as we can.'

Presto listened carefully for a moment, hoping to hear Eric's piercing voice to help give them the correct direction, but he didn't hear his friends' voices again.

'Any suggestions? 'he murmured.

Hank pointed to the right, and Presto nodded.

'We'd better keep out of sight, too,' Hank added.

Presto nodded. Those people seemed harmless enough, but there were a large number of them. And they didn't sound very happy about something!

The two of them moved off again, heading right towards the far end of the village.

They started peeking in windows and doors if they were open, and there were no sounds close by, but they didn't find any clues. Then, at last, they found themselves outside a tiny but thick-set stone cottage, with narrow windows and a well-locked door. Inside they could hear the voices of their friends, Eric's angry tone was unmistakeable. Hank and Presto looked though the window.

At the back the Magician could see Diana, Bobby, Uni and Eric, all locked in a metal cage and looking very cross. To the side, in an untidy pile just out of their reach, were the four weapons; the Shield with the Cloak draped over it, and the club resting beside it with the Javelin on the floor.

Presto was busy looking inside, trying to think of a way out, when he realised Hank was shaking.

'What's wrong?' he whispered. 'Hank?'

The Ranger's expression struck fear into Presto's heart.

'Sheila's not there!'

Presto jolted round, looking between the weapons and his friends. The slowly he turned back to face his friend. No wonder Hank looked so devastated.

The Cloak was there, but Sheila was not!

* * *


	4. Don't Look Now

Chapter 4

Don't Look Now

'Hank?'

It looked as if the Ranger was frozen in place, his face drained of all emotion.

_What am I going to do? _(We need to get moving!) _THINK OF SOMETHING TO SAY!_ (We've got to get out of here!) _YES! THINK OF SOMETHING TO SAY!_

'Sheila, must… she must… be,' said Presto, struggling to continue the sentence, 'She… might…' Hank hadn't moved, not even to turn round and face him, or look at him, or anything. For a moment, Presto just stared in confusion, then noises from close by brought him to his senses. 'Hank! C'mon! We need to get them out of there!'

Presto looked back into the hut. The others were looking angry and bored and frustrated; Presto recognised the expressions as they had been in this sort of situation before.

But before he could do anything to help, there was the sound of voices from the street nearby. Some of those little gnome-creatures were coming this way!

Hastily, Presto pulled Hank back away from the window, just in time.

The little creatures didn't notice them and unlocked the door of the house, muttering to each other. As they went in, Presto leaned forward again to see what was going on inside. They didn't seem interesting in Eric and his biting sarcasm and demands for a lawyer, Bobby's shouting, or Uni's plaintive bleat. Instead, they went straight to the weapons!

The (small) amount of confidence that Presto felt vanished almost instantly. They had found the others, _well most of them,_ and they had a good chance to get them free without anyone seeing. But they couldn't go chasing after lost weapons as well as their missing Thief. He couldn't let that happen, not when they were all in the one place at the moment!

Instinctively, his hand went to the Hat.

_Keep them handy, keep them near! Keep the weapons close by us here!_

As a spell, it wasn't great, but it was the best he could do at such short notice. The Hat glowed, but nothing seemed to happen. (Please work, please work, please, work!)

The creatures went over to the weapons, and Presto held his breath. One reached down to pick up the Club, but it didn't move! It gripped the handle with both hands and tugged as hard as it could, but still the weapon didn't move an inch.

There was a burst of frightened babbling, and the other creature came forward and tried ineffectually to help. The Club couldn't be moved; neither could the Shield, Cloak or Javelin. It was as if they were fastened to the floor with glue.

Presto's friends had stopped complaining to stare at the creatures in confusion. Then the Magician saw Eric suddenly smiled and looked around. He caught sight of Presto and his grin grew wider. He winked.

The creatures had started to argue.

'It's _magic_,' one of them hissed. 'Bad power! Bad magic! They are sorcerers with bad power!'

The other looked furtively around, then glared at their prisoners.

'You have bad magic!'

Eric gave a cocky smile.

'Well, maybe we do! Or maybe we just don't like being _locked up_ by such poor excuses for _dwarves_!!'

The first creature didn't seem to like that comparison one little bit, and scowled at the Cavalier.

'Bad magic,' murmured the other one breathlessly. 'The Shadow! The Shadow will be angry. The Shadow doesn't want bad power. The Shadow will…'

The two creatures looked at each other in terror, and for a moment the Magician felt quite sorry for them. Though they were grubby, and small and sorta mean-looking, there was nothing actually nasty about them. As he looked, Presto saw the fear in their eyes. That, and the way they shuffled around nervously made him feel uneasy. They were definitely afraid of something, and he suspected that it was a something he and his friends should be afraid of too!

The two gnome-creatures hesitated for a moment longer, then bolted for the door, to enthusiastic cheering from the three imprisoned kids and Uni.

But it was clear to Presto what they were going to do; they were going back to the main gathering to tell the others creatures, and they would soon be back with reinforcements! So he and Hank had to get the others out of there, as soon as possible.

He turned to say as much to the Ranger, but the words didn't come out of his mouth, the expression on Hank's face stopped him.

He'd never seen Hank like that before. He was terrified, yes, but there was something beyond that as well. It wasn't just fear for his friends; it was fear of losing Sheila. That look suddenly brought home to Presto realise what Hank must be feeling.

It had been obvious over the past few days in the clearing that Hank and Sheila had been spending a lot of time together; everyone had given them a bit of space, but this was the first time Presto had really put two and two together and got four!

'I… um, she'll… um,' _This isn't going to help!_ (Those nasty little gnome-things are gonna be back any minute) _Do something! _(Quick!)'Hank, we've gotta get the others out of there! As quick as we can! Before those things come back!'

Presto grabbed Hank's arm and gave it a little tug, and he could feel his friend shaking. But that small gesture of help seemed enough to rouse the Ranger from his blank stare, and they both headed for the door at the same time. As they pushed it open they were greeted by cheers from their friends.

'Way to go, Presto!' exclaimed Eric with a wide grin. 'And nice timing! I was getting pretty bored of waiting for you guys to show up! C'mon get us out of here!'

Presto was just about to answer back when Dungeonmaster's warning popped back into his head, and he was instantly on the alert. One of them wasn't who they appeared to be. He glanced towards the weapons, and frowned.

'Where's Sheila!' shouted Hank striding towards the cell door. 'What the hell happened!'

The Magician didn't like the way Hank was looking at the others, especially the way he was looking at Eric. They had been on reasonably good terms for some time now, and this wasn't the time or the place for an argument!

'Take it easy,' said Presto, 'we…'

It was clear that Hank wasn't listening. He glared at the others, and fixed the Cavalier in particularly venomous stare. Eric, being Eric, glared back, as sarcastically and arrogantly as he could. (This is going to go wrong!) _Yep! This is all going to go totally wrong… any moment… now..._

'What happened to Sheila?' the Ranger demanded again.

'Get us out of here, and we'll all go and…' started Eric

'You're not going anywhere until I know where she is!' hissed Hank. He turned to Presto, and pointed. 'Get the weapons.'

The Magician barely had time to register the words before Hank had a great golden arrow pointed right in Eric's face through the bars of the cell.

'What! Hey! No!' said Eric in surprise. 'What's going on?'

Hank frowned furiously at Presto, and the Magician was compelled to do as Hank asked, even though he didn't quite agree that this was the right way to do things. He could feel Eric and the others watching him as he collected the four weapons from the ground and gathered them up in his arms.

'So, you gonna get us outta here, now?' said Eric as sarcastically as he could manage while facing a flaming energy arrow. 'Or are we just gonna stand around getting arrows pointed at us until the Duegars get back? Won't that be _fun_!'

'Open the door,' Hank told Presto.

For a moment, Presto thought Hank was meaning he should use the Hat, but then he saw the glint of a metal key on the wall nearby. Fortunately, it opened the cell door.

The three inside didn't look particularly pleased though, especially Eric who was still glaring at Hank.

'Where's Sheila!' he demanded.

'Those creatures took her!' answered Bobby with a growl.

'Hank!' said Diana, eying the nocked arrow warily. 'What's going on!'

'I don't care,' said Bobby brusquely, pushing Eric and Diana out of the way. 'I gotta find Sheila!'

'Meeah! Mee-Maa!' echoed Uni, following him.

'What's going on, Hank?' repeated Diana. 'Why are you acting so…'

There were noises from nearby outside the door, perhaps the sound of raised voices. Presto looked at Hank.

'We've gotta get out of here!' he hissed. 'Hank! Let them go!'

'Where's Sheila!' he snapped at Eric. The Cavalier didn't get much of a chance to answer, as Bobby cut in.

'They took her! We've gotta find her!' The diminutive Barbarian turned to Presto and gave a thunderous scowl that would have stopped almost anyone (except maybe Tiamat) in their tracks. 'Gimme my Club!'

For a second, Presto hesitated. He knew that "Bobby" might not actually _be_ Bobby, and he couldn't use the Club anyway. (You were right!) _What?? _(This is not the right place to find out!)

Swallowing hard, and overcoming the powerful look Hank was casting at him, Presto gave the Club back to the Barbarian, who immediately tapped it on the ground, causing it to glow brightly.

'Just let 'em come back in here! I'll teach them to hurt my sister!'

(Hurt??) _Hurt?? _(HURT??)

'Hurt!' exclaimed Hank, looking back round at the Cavalier. 'What do you mean! What happened!'

'Stop pointing that goddamn arrow in my face and I might tell you!' snarled Eric. 'And gimme my Shield.'

The noises outside grew louder, and there was the sound of frantically chattering voices.

'Good, they're coming!' bellowed Bobby, waving his Club belligerently and just missing Uni's nose. 'I'll teach them to mess with us!'

'No,' said Presto, grabbing his arm. 'Let's just get out of here! Quick!'

'I don't wanna end up stuck in the cells!' said Diana firmly. 'Presto's right. Let's get out of here. Whatever it is can wait!'

She looked at Hank for a moment, then turned and headed for the door, Bobby following. The Ranger gave Eric one last angry look then followed them. The Cavalier was by Presto's side the instant Hank's attention was elsewhere, and he yanked the Shield out of the Magician's grip.

'I'll take that, thank _you_!' he said pointedly, before turning on his heel and following the other three out of the door.

The Magician stared after him, but barely had time to the in about how much Eric had changed over the past few months (not running away at the very first opportunity for one thing) before the shouting grew much louder. (Time to leave!!) _RIGHT NOW!_

He ran.

Diana and Hank were at the front of the group, and Diana seemed to know the fastest way out of the village; Presto wasn't close enough to hear what she was telling Hank, but she seemed pretty sure of herself. Bobby sprinted after them, with Uni galloping along by his side and Eric ran after, holding on to his Shield for dear life.

Presto didn't dare look back.

Besides, he didn't need to, as he could hear the sounds of pursuit close behind; (Being chased again!) _How familiar! _(But would I miss it if it didn't happen?)

They were out of the village in a few minutes, and into the dark, shadowy caves once again, this time on the opposite side from where Hank and Presto had come in.

The Magician was prepared for a long chase and then a fight at the end, but the creatures didn't follow them into the caves, they didn't go further than the edge of their village, and instead contented themselves with hurling insults and shouting after them.

Eric it seemed was finding it hard to keep up with the others, and Presto had soon overtaken him. But the kids still ran on for a while, Hank seemed to be driving them forward to make sure they were not going to be followed.

At last they stumbled to a halt in a random cave, breathless and disorientated.

'I… think… we lost them,' gasped Eric as he staggered up holding his side.

He had barely spoken when Hank turned furiously to Eric, staring at him in a very unpleasant manner. Presto was thinking about Dungeonmaster's warning, and it seemed likely that Hank was too; it seemed likely that he'd already made up his mind about who the Doppelganger was as well!

'Where's Sheila! What did you do to her? What happened?'

'Don't bother to ask nicely or anything!' the Cavalier snapped, obviously angry himself now. 'She was taken to the Shadow by those Duegars. I'd told her going there to help was a bad idea! And it was! But no one ever listens to me, do they!'

Aware that they still didn't know who was who, the Magician made a snap decision to ignore that fact for the time being. He knew Hank wanted to find Sheila, more than anything else. That was the Ranger's top priority. Besides, Hank looked like he wasn't gonna listen to any one else at the moment anyway!

'What happened?' Presto asked. 'How did you get there in the first place?'

'When the wall came down,' started Diana, 'at the bridge, we had to run to get out without being trapped. We didn't get the chance to go and look for you, there was something chasing us.'

Presto could remember a big, black _something_ that had swooped down from the heights of the cave as he had been running across the bridge.

'What was it?' he asked.

Diana shrugged.

'We couldn't see.'

'How did you end up in the village?'

'That was Sheila's idea!' chipped in Eric. 'There seemed to be some sort of panic in the village, and Sheila thought we could help! And get help to find you as well.'

'But,' continued Diana, 'the Duegars didn't see it like that! They were all worked up about their Protector Shadow being disturbed, and they blamed us. And when we tried to leave to get back to help you on our own they grabbed us.'

Presto glanced up at Hank, and they were obviously thinking the same thing. How were they captured so easily? Why didn't they use their weapons?

The Ranger beat him to the question.

'How? Why didn't you use your weapons?' But instead of waiting for an answer, he pulled an arrow and pointed it at Eric once again. 'Your explanation had better be _very _good!'

'Hank!' said Diana, 'What's happened? What's wrong?'

Eric glared at Hank, a small sneer on his face. Presto saw the Cavalier tighten his grip on his Shield, but he didn't use it or activate it's magic. It could still be the wrong Eric. Of all of them, The Cavalier was the most likely target, after all. He was forever wandering off or getting captured, or running into some sort of trouble.

'Put the goddamn arrow away and I'll consider answering!' Eric said, planting his hands on his hips. 'What's the matter with you!'

'Answer the goddamn question!' demanded Hank.

'We didn't get the chance to react,' Diana explained, looking a little embarrassed. 'They were too quick for us, even Sheila didn't get to use her Cloak. They went for the weapons first.'

Hank's grip on the Bow didn't waiver, and he took a step towards the Cavalier, so the tip of his arrow was only inches away from Eric's nose.

'Why didn't you look after her!' he asked Eric in a low growl. 'Why did you let them hurt her?'

Hank pulled the arrow back further and the low hiss of its magic was all Presto could hear. But Eric didn't back down.

'I think it's him, Presto,' said Hank. 'I bet it is!'

'"Him" what!' demanded Eric. 'Presto? What's going on? You seem to have some explaining to do as well?'

'Shut up!' growled Hank. 'Just give me one excuse and I'll fire.' This time, Eric blanched at the conviction in the Ranger's voice. 'Why didn't you stop them taking Sheila?'

'Don't go blaming me for all this!' replied the Cavalier. 'I tried to help, and I tried to stop them. And I got punched in the stomach for my trouble too!'

'They wanted something to placate the Shadow,' said Diana, stepping up close to Hank. 'A present, or something. They took the first one they could. We all tried to stop them, but there were too many of them.' She reached up to touch his arm. 'We tried. I'm sorry.'

'Where are they taking her?' asked Presto.

'Into the centre of the mountain. I think they said something about a cave, or a nest, or something. It didn't make much sense.'

For a few moments, Hank didn't move, then very slowly he lowered his Bow and the arrow faded away to nothing. Then he looked up to Presto.

'You'd better tell them what's going on,' said the Ranger, still staring. 'We need to find out who we can trust.'

Eric's expression turned from one of relief to angry indignation.

'_Who we can trust_!' he mimicked. 'Whaddya mean by that!'

He glared at Hank, and then turned to glare at Presto.

'Well…?'

'I saw Dungeonmaster again,' said Presto. Eric pulled a face. 'He gave me a warning.'

'So?'

'One of us is a Doppelganger,' interrupted Hank. 'One of _you _two!'

Eric and Diana looked at each other warily, but Bobby just looked back at Hank, confused.

'A doppel-_what_?' the Barbarian asked.

'A double,' said Hank. 'But it's not you, Bobby.'

'How did you figure that out!' said Eric indignantly.

'He used his Club,' said the Ranger. 'At the village.'

Eric looked doubtfully at Hank and Presto. He didn't make any move to use the Shield. But Diana did react. She looked at Presto, who was still holding her Javelin, and held out her hand for Presto to return it.

'I am me,' she said firmly. 'And I'll show you!'

The moment the shrunken Javelin touched her hand, it began to glow and grow. Within a moment it was five foot, and Diana twirled it above her head.

'Satisfied?' she asked Hank. The Ranger nodded.

'So, that just leaves you, Cavalier!' he said. Presto glanced down at the Bow in Hank's hand. Presto could see that his friend was just a fraction away from pulling another arrow. He had already made up his mind about "Eric".

The Cavalier just stared at him, with a familiar arrogant expression.

'You are really gonna make me do this?' he asked, barely bothering to hide his anger.

'Yes.'

'Fine.'

Eric glanced down to the Shield on his arm. Then he lifted it up, and it began to glow.

'Satisfied?'

Presto nodded and smiled at his friend, but Hank just stared. (Um, shouldn't he be pleased?) _But if it's not Eric, then… _(If it's not Eric it could only be…) _Uh oh! _(Oh no!) _Sheila!_.

The others had figured it out too. Diana glanced between Hank and Bobby, her face filled with worry.

'Wh-what are we gonna do? Hank?'

'What about Sheila!' demanded Bobby. 'Where is she? What did that doppel-thing do to her?'

There was silence. (This is bad) _This isn't good._ (What _are_ we gonna do?)

'It must be Sheila,' said Hank, in a broken voice. 'It must be… but…'

The Ranger sudden looked up, gripping the Bow as tightly as he could and Presto could see the white knuckles. When he next spoke, it was in a low growl.

'Let's find that Doppelganger and wring the truth out of it!'

He stormed off, and Bobby and his unicorn and Diana darted after him, leaving Presto staring at a very bemused Eric. Then the Cavalier shrugged.

'I don't have a better idea, do you?' he asked Presto. 'So let's go!'

Presto shook his head. There was nothing else to do but follow the trail into the mountain.

But as he turned to follow the others into the mountain, there was a nagging little voice in the back of his head… _something wasn't quite right_. There was something they had forgotten about. But for the life of him, he couldn't think what it was.

* * *

Time was dragging. 

Her head hurt, her arms hurt.

The Duegars had frog-marched her through the labyrinthine cave system at double-speed; she had no idea things so small and scrawny could move so quickly. They chattered away to each other as they went, and it became obvious to Sheila that they were scared. Whatever was ahead of her scared these creatures to death.

She wished she had managed to defend herself better, at least to try and keep the Cloak. But they could move so fast.

And she had been distracted. She was so worried about Hank. When the roof of the cave had started to fall she had skidded to a halt, and turned round, only to see a flash of green as Hank dived towards Presto, pulling him out of harms way. The rocks were falling thick and fast, and the dark Shadow loomed above them.

She closed her eyes, feeling tears starting. She had hoped to find help in the village, but instead, now, she was further away from him than ever. She could only hope that he was alright, and Presto too. She could only hope that they had fond the others and were following her.

The Duegars marched on, and Sheila could barely keep up.

Then, quite suddenly they slowed.

There was a smell like nothing she had ever smelt before. Disgusting; repulsive; horrendous; vile; they were all too _mild_ to describe it properly. Rotting meat, mixed with vomit and sh… she didn't want to think about what else!

She fought the urge to be sick.

The Duegars shuffled forward, looking around nervously. Just ahead was the entrance to a large cave, or so it seemed. There was a narrow fissure that ran from roof to floor letting a small amount of natural light in, and filling the cave with shadows. Not far from the entrance to the cave she saw a cage.

Though she tried to struggle again, the Duegars were too strong. They shoved her forward into the cage, slammed and locked the door and ran as fast as they could. It took only moment before they were out of sight and the noise they had made was gone.

The first thing she did was to try to move the door, but whatever the cage was made of was strong and sturdy stuff. She couldn't move it.

She slumped down to the ground and put her head in her hands; tired, lonely and miserable. She knew that the others would try to find her. She just hoped they would find her quickly, before she found out what was making that awful smell.

And she thought of Hank, diving to save his friend from the falling rocks. _I hope he's alright, I really, really hope he's safe._

There was a noise and she jerked round, looking to the shadows at the back of the cage.

But instead of more Duegars, or something hideous and monstrous, something small and white crawled into view; something that had been hiding.

Sheila frowned, confused.

It was Uni!

* * *


	5. Troubles Doubled

Chapter 5

Troubles Doubled

Sheila stared at the unicorn for a few moments, trying to understand. _Uni?_ What was Uni doing here? She shouldn't be here? What was going on?

'Uni? Is that you? Uni?' The little unicorn gave a stilted nod and looked up miserably to the Thief. 'What are you doing here?'

'Meay. Meah.'

Uni crept forward towards her, her head low and gave a weak and miserable bray.

'What happened to you? Where are the others?'

The unicorn didn't answer, but put her head on Sheila's knee with a sigh. She closed her eyes.

As she petted her, Sheila frowned. Something wasn't quite right here. Uni was with Bobby when they had been taken prisoner in the village, wasn't she? She had been with him all the time, and was still there when she'd been taken away. Hadn't she? _Hadn't she?_

There was just no way Uni could have gotten there before her; and more to the point, it looked like Uni had been there for quite some time, judging by the way she had been hiding at the back of the cage!

What _was_ going on?

'Uni, how long have you been here? Hours?' Uni looked up at her, and nodded.

'Mhuers.'

_Hours!!_ How could Uni have been here for hours when she had been with Bobby the whole time? Unless… Sheila's frown deepened. Unless something had taken her place. She reached out once again to pet Uni's head, trying to understand.

'I wish you could talk, Uni,' she said with a sigh. 'Then you could tell me what happened.'

'Meeyeh.'

She frowned, thinking. Something wasn't right, and it was obvious enough to her that _something_ had taken the unicorn's place. But what? And why? And _how_!

There was a low groaning noise from somewhere behind her, deep and unseen in the shadowy cave.

Sheila turned round. Maybe the questions should wait!

'We've gotta get ourselves out of here,' she whispered to the unicorn. 'I know! Why don't we just teleport?'

Uni shook her head. She tried to concentrate, and her horn glowed very, very slightly but she didn't go anywhere. It seemed to take a great deal of effort even to do that!

'You already tried?'

'Meeh.'

'You had a bad trip?'

Uni nodded again.

'Then I guess we'll have to think up something else!' said Sheila with a sigh.

Uni's unexpected appearance had only distracted her from the disgusting smell for a short while. She was still locked in a cage, and she still didn't have a way out.

The Thief spend a while examining the cage door, and the walls, trying to find a way out, but she couldn't. Whatever had made this cage had made sure that once something was shut in, it didn't get back out again.

She thought of the others, and Hank in particular, and hoped that they would hurry, wherever they were, as the feeling of panic was starting to grow. But instead of letting herself get too worried, and giving in to the panic, she kept searching around, and trying to find a way out on her own. She wasn't on her own this time, anyway. She had Uni to look after, and to help her.

She went back to the door, with the unicorn following her, and peered out through the bars.

The cave beyond was a mass of shadows, the thin light that filtered in from the crevasse was tinged with pale orange, presumably because the day was over and dusk was falling. Before too long there would be no day left at all!

'I wonder what lives in here?' she whispered, more to herself than to Uni. She didn't say what else she was thinking; that whatever it was, it was obviously bad news. She didn't think she needed to!

It was difficult to see anything in the cave, but slowly Sheila's eyes grew accustomed to the shapeless shadows, she could make out a few details.

The floor seemed to be covered in bones, many human skulls but also animals of different kinds. There seemed to be some Orcs as well; or at least there were some tusked skulls that _looked_ like they were from Orcs and Sheila had no desire to find out up close. There were also some skull that maybe had belonged to those Duegars as well. She felt sick just thinking about it.

The Thief was just about to turn away when she caught a tiny glint of silver out of the corner of her eye. Something was there, tossed aside in a forgotten corner of the cave. Whatever the something was, it seemed to be long, and silvery. And though Dungeonmaster had never described it, she knew what it was: The Orion Lance!

She pushed herself up closer to the bars in the door, trying to peer past the edge and see the Lance more clearly, but she could only see the first foot or so. It was too far away to make out any real details, but it had a long shining silver point, and a more golden sheen to it further down.

'The Lance!' she whispered. At last they had finally found what they had entered the caves to find! Now the only problem was getting to it, and finding the others. She sighed. Why did this sort of thing always happen?

She stared at the Lance for a short while, straining round to try and get a better view of it, but it didn't work. Just as she had given up, and was trying to push open the door again she heard another strange noise.

There was the quiet whoosh of wind, and close by Sheila could hear the gentle beat of wings. Something was coming!

'Get back into the corner, Uni,' she ordered the unicorn. 'Keep hidden, until the others come!'

Uni hesitated, but saw the hard, uncompromising look on the Thief's face (the one she usually reserved for arguing with her brother) and so Uni did as she was ordered.

The wing-beats grew louder, then something huge swept down from above, right into the cave before her. A Dragon!

It was very large, nearly the same height as Tiamat, but black with long, wide black wings. It landed with a rush of air, and stood in the middle of its cave, looking around cautiously. As it stood there, it seemed to melt into the background shadows, and Sheila realised what kind of dragon this was. This was a Shadow Dragon!

Being faced with any sort of dragon when trapped in a cage was bad enough, but Shadow Dragons had an unpleasant reputation, even for Evil dragons: mean, callous, and downright bad!

It took a long, slow sniff of the air, and stretched its neck up, straining its wings right back to the wall. As it moved, it sent wafts of that terrible rotting smell over to her. She put her hand over her mouth, trying not to cough or make to much noise. And trying not to be sick as well!

The Shadow Dragon sniffed again, and it turned to the back wall, that was covered in shadows, just like the creature itself.

Sheila looked up to the wall much more closely, to see what the Dragon was sniffing at. She had to strain her eyes, and squint slightly, but at last she made out something of what was there. Behind were a variety of corpses, in various states of decay. Her stomach turned and she put her hand firmly over her mouth, determined not to be sick.

That was the other thing about Shadow Dragons. They liked meat; but they liked rotten meat a whole lot better!

The Shadow Dragon suddenly lifted its head, and sniffed again. Then it looked slowly round its cave, giving a menacing growl.

It seemed to have caught her scent, and it came lumbering over to the cage, and peered inside, its giant, gunmetal claws curling round the bars on the door. The smell of its breath was almost over powering, and Sheila staggered back, keeping her hand over her mouth. She could see the glint of malice in its eye, and she swallowed hard on the urge to be sick, and the paralysing fear.

The Dragon growled at her.

_Hank, please hurry up!_

* * *

Presto didn't say much as they walked. 

In fact, no one said very much as they were moving far too fast to walk and talk at the same time. Hank was driving them forward at an almost unmanageable pace. Presto was tempted to give up a couple of times, but he wasn't convinced that Hank would stop to wait for him, and he had no desire to be lost in the Caves on his own!

He was at the back, Eric and Diana were just in front; Diana seemed to be keeping Eric company, as the Cavalier was struggling to keep up the relentless pace; no doubt he would have some choice words to say to Hank when they stopped, whenever he got his breath back! Bobby was the only one who could match the Ranger and he stalked along by Hank's side glaring so ferociously, and swinging his Club in such a threatening manner that Presto almost felt sorry for the Doppelganger.

He had no clear idea of what they were going to do next; he was fairly sure no one else had an idea either, and Hank just seemed intent on getting to "Sheila" as quickly as possible.

They were following what looked like a well-worn pathway further into the mountain. If it had been outside, it might have been a road!

Over the past minutes they had descended further and Presto was starting to feel a little sick. There was a smell, a truly disgusting smell that rivalled anything Eric had ever cooked! It grew stronger the further down they went.

He coughed.

'What is that stench!' he heard Eric say between breaths.

'It's just like your cooking!' Diana quipped back instantly.

'Fun-u-ny!'

Presto would have expected more banter, but obviously the punishing pace had eroded their collective sense of humour! And for that he was actually pleased, at the moment!

As they kept on walking, there was a growing feeling inside Presto that he'd forgotten something, or he had done something wrong or… well, something, anyway! He thought back to his meeting with Dungeonmaster. _One of your number has already been captured_.

His reasoning made sense, it fitted the riddle, but there was still something not quite right. Meeting Dungeonmaster seemed like weeks ago, rather than hours. The Magician wasn't even sure how long ago it was. It could have been days for all he knew; he had lost his sense of time as well as he sense of direction and all of his stamina. And the unending shadows and a long march in the dark was wearing them all down. _Something feels odd._ (Yes, something isn't quite right). _Any suggestions? _(No) _Oh. Sure?_ (Sure.) _Oh._

They rushed on and on and on.

Hank was still striding forward at the front. Bobby was beginning to lag behind, and the Magician could sense that both Eric and Diana were uneasy too; they were exchanging _those_ sorts of glances with each other. But neither of them wanted to go and ask Hank; especially not Eric after that little… Presto didn't know how to describe it! Argument didn't quite cover it as it was all fairly one sided! But he wasn't surprised that Eric wanted to give Hank as wide a berth as possible.

_I should talk to Hank._ (He doesn't look like he wants to talk at the moment, you know, Presto) _Still… I should talk to him. _(Hmm) _Well…maybe soon._

Undecided, he walked on, but not for long. Hank seemed to be speeding up again, and the frantic pace hadn't slacked at all. Eric was now visibly struggling to keep up, and Diana had taken his arm to help him along.

Presto was going to have to do something. Sooner rather than later, as well.

So he forced himself to speed up; and it was hard work too, he had to virtually run, and that was the hardest thing about the whole underground trip, especially after such a long, fast march. But he managed to get past the ailing Eric and Diana, and overtake a glowering, furious-looking Bobby as well. Poor little Uni was having to gallop along as fast as she could to keep up with him! _You know, there's something odd…_

Hank was just a few steps ahead, and Presto could see his face. There was a hard, heartless look on the Ranger's face, and it was a look that Presto really didn't like. Not even when they decided to go and look for the Dragon's Graveyard did he look so unapproachable!

Hank had Sheila's Cloak clutched in his left hand, tight enough to turn his knuckles white.

He couldn't let Hank go through this alone, without trying to help. Hank was their leader, he was the one they all looked up to, and the one they all relied on. He owed it to the Ranger to do something.

'Hey, Hank!' he panted.

The Ranger grunted in reply. Presto suddenly realised that Hank was as exhausted as the rest of them, and that this pace was untenable. They might get to wherever they were going in double quick time, but at the end they would be to worn out to do anything!

'Hey, Hank! Slow down!'

'I can't,' muttered Hank, though Presto wasn't totally sure he'd heard him correctly. The Ranger was breathing hard, and his face was covered with a sheen of sweat.

Hank moved to speed up, but Presto caught his arm.

'You're not gonna do any good if you can't stand,' he said. 'You've gotta slow down! Please!'

Maybe he sounded more plaintive and woeful than he'd meant to as Hank slowed slightly, and the Ranger turned to look at Presto, a look of concern on his face.

'Are you ok, Presto?' said Hank breathlessly. 'I know you were hurt, but we can't stop. I understand this is hard going, but we don't have a lot of time.'

Presto nodded.

'I'm ok, but what about you, Hank? Are you ok?'

Hank nodded tersely, without thinking; as if the answer to the question was obvious. But it was clear to Presto that the answer was the opposite from the one Hank had actually given. He wasn't ok at all.

The Magician didn't say anything for a few moments, and concentrated on trying to keep up with Hank and trying to work out what to say, and how best to say it. He was aware that he wasn't very good at this sort of thing; he didn't feel that he had helped Hank when he had really needed it. Sheila was missing, replaced by a Doppelganger, and Hank would be missing her terribly. How could he possibly find anything to say that would be helpful?

But first of all though, he had to persuade Hank to slow down, for all their sakes.

'Can we stop, Hank,' he said.

'No.'

'Hank, I think we need to…'

'No.'

Presto took a deep breath and grabbed the Ranger's arm as firmly as he could.

'You need to stop, Hank,' he said firmly.

The boy turned round, and Presto had to suppress a wave of fear, worrying he had taken a step too far and the Ranger was going to storm off. But there was a frozen look of fear on his face as Hank looked at the Magician, and after a moments hesitation, he nodded.

He slowed, much to everyone's relief, and then finally stopped, just near a narrowing of the tunnel. Presto was worried that Eric would immediately have a go at Hank and pick a fight but, fortunately, the Cavalier was far too grateful for the rest to start arguing at the moment.

Presto stayed beside the Ranger as they rested, watching the other boy as he stood with his eyes closed, leaning against the wall. His grip on the Cloak hadn't lessened at all.

'We need a short break,' Presto said. 'We won't do any good if we can't stand when we find Sheila.'

Hank looked up at him, his eyes wide with fear.

'Sheila, she could be anywhere,' he whispered after a long pause. 'I don't even know when she went missing! It could have been days for all we know! She might be miles away. There's almost no chance of finding her. I don't know what to do. I don't know where to start.'

The last words were spoken so softly that Presto thought he'd misheard. But when he looked at Hank's face, he realised how much the admission of despair had meant.

'We'll find her,' said Presto. 'We will, somehow. We're all here to help.'

'I can't believe it wasn't her,' he said quietly. 'Earlier on. I just... can't believe it.' Presto just nodded, not sure what to say. 'I can't believe it wasn't her. It feels like…' Hank drew a short, pained breath, '…it feels like she's betrayed us, even though I know she hasn't. And I feel…'

Hank stopped, and looked Presto in the eye. The look of sorrow and fear on his face was something the Magician had never seen before. He was just struggling to find something useful and pertinent to say when someone else cut in.

'Yeah, it's not exactly fun when a friend turns on you!' said a voice.

Presto looked round in surprise, to see Eric standing just behind him, glaring at Hank.

(Oh boy!) _Eric looks really annoyed!_ (Eric looks furious). Presto took a small step back. The Cavalier had that look on his face; the same one he had had when he'd faced off against the Dungeonmaster after Hank had been taken by the Darkling. _This isn't good!_

Hank looked at Eric with a blank, bland expression, and that seemed to infuriate the Cavalier even more.

'Well?' he demanded. 'Is it?'

Without pausing for breath, Eric continued before Hank could get a word in.

'But then, I suppose _you_ didn't have a flaming arrow pointed in your face! Did you!'

It was clear that Eric was still furious at Hank's treatment of him earlier, and in some sense, Presto sympathised with him. But arguing about it here and now wasn't gonna do any good.

'And I'm not taking another goddamn step until you apologise!' said Eric firmly. 'I don't like being picked on!'

Presto glanced at Hank, expecting to see Eric's anger matched by the Ranger. But Hank looked almost haggard by comparison, he closed his eyes for a few moments. If Presto hadn't known better, he would have said Hank was about to cry.

'Well…?' demanded Eric.

'Give him a break, Eric,' said Diana. 'He's not really in any condition to…'

'I am sorry,' interrupted Hank. 'I am sorry.'

It was the apology that Eric had wanted, but Hank's broken and defeated tone sent a shiver of fear and pity through Presto. Hank covered his eyes with his hand, and everyone else turned to glare at Eric.

'What!' he snapped. 'What did I do wrong this time!'

'I've never met anyone so insensitive!' replied Diana hotly. 'I can't believe you sometimes!'

Eric glared at her.

'No,' said Hank. 'He's right. I was being unfair, and I went too far.' He looked at Eric again. 'I'm sorry.'

The Cavalier looked very awkward at Hank agreement; perhaps he wasn't used to Hank thinking he was right, but he managed to pass it off with a terse nod.

'Ok, then,' said Eric, lifting his Shield and gripping it tightly. 'Now that's cleared up, and we've all had a rest, let's find this Doppelganger and find Sheila!'

His face was set, and he looked levelly at Hank.

The exhausted and drained Ranger nodded, and suddenly smiled.

'Yeah,' he said. 'Let's go!'

There was a new purpose within the group, Presto could sense it. Surprisingly, Eric and Hank walked together at the front, Presto himself in the middle with Diana, and Bobby and Uni behind.

They didn't go as fast as they had earlier, everyone knew that was untenable and Hank wasn't pushing the point. But they walked as fast as they could, always heading along the widest tunnel, and almost always heading downwards.

They had only been marching for about five minutes when they heard a muffled noise from along the tunnels. Presto thought that he might have imagined it.

Then there was a scream.

It came from somewhere up ahead, and sounded suspiciously like Sheila! Hank skidded to a halt, and seemed to stagger. And then, without warning, he started to run. Everyone followed.

The scream had sounded close and, sure enough, they soon came to a very smooth walled, short tunnel that had a glimmer of light at the end. The group slowed, and crept along it as quickly and as quietly as they could until they reached the bottom.

Once there, they all crowded forward, peering round the corner. There was enough light to see by, coming from a fissure to their left. Uni was pushed against the back of Bobby's knees, shaking. The Barbarian reached down to pet her.

The stench in the cave was almost overpowering, and all of the kids had their hands over their mouth to try and dampen it. But it didn't work, at least not for Presto. He had never smelt anything quite so disgusting!

More than that, at the back of the cave were bodies; humans Orcs; some of those Duergar creatures too, all in various degrees of decomposition. He fought the urge to be sick, which was all the easier as he hadn't had anything to eat for a good long while.

But the thing that caught his attention the most was the great, black creature that stood in the centre. He stared at it for a few seconds.

It was a gigantic Shadow Dragon; he recognised it from its description. It was black like night, but mottled as well and the dim light reflected off its scales, and there were so many shadows in the cave that it was difficult to see exactly how big it was. He could see the bright gleam in its eye, and the white of its teeth. He gulped.

Shadow Dragon's were nasty; and not that clever either!

In one of its great, clawed hands was a person. Presto heard Hank gasp. It looked like Sheila. And it was obviously scared, and struggling to get away.

Suddenly Hank moved forward, brandishing his Bow.

'Hey!' he shouted. 'Hey you!'

Both "Sheila" and the Shadow Dragon turned to see what was making that noise.

Presto was watching Sheila carefully; and in that moment, when she turned to look at Hank, there was absolutely no doubt in Presto's mind that that was the _real_ Sheila. There was just no way anything, no matter how clever or well adapted as a mimic, could have imitated that expression of joy, relief and above all pride and love. _But if she's Sheila… _(then where is the Doppelganger.) A_nd what have we missed out?_(There's something we've missed. But what?) _Trust no one…_

'Stay away from her!' shouted Hank with a growl in his voice. He drew a flaming arrow. 'Stay away from her!'

The Shadow Dragon hissed at him, it might have been a laugh, and then it let out an ear-splitting shriek.

Everyone bar the Ranger tried to cover their ears.

A few moments of silence followed, then there was the unmistakable beat of wings from outside. The noise grew louder, and a moment after there was the scraping of claws and _another_ Shadow Dragon appeared at the fissure in the wall. And this one was even bigger.

_Oh crap! _(You can say that again). Ok, o_h CRAP!_

Everyone seemed frozen in surprise, and the newcomer looked round the cave with a malevolent glare, it was definitely larger, and broader, and the look in its eye was evil.

Panic had almost stopped Presto breathing. Ok, they could possibly take on one Shadow Dragon and win (or at least not die) but taking on two, presumably a pair, with a nest to defend, and maybe even young, or eggs, was an entirely different matter.

We're screwed! 

But fortunately, Hank reacted faster than the Dragon did. He fired a quick volley of arrows, directly at the hand holding the Thief and the Dragon recoiled in pain, letting Sheila slip to the ground, free.

She didn't stay still for long, but darted away from the creature, heading towards them as fast as she could run over the uneven ground.

Presto did a double-take. Those were bones. On the ground.

Those were bones!  
Sickness welled up inside him again.

Whether or not Hank knew this was indeed the real Sheila or not, Presto was never be sure. But as the Thief came closer, Hank didn't react aggressively, and neither did nay of the others, it was likely they were too worried about the two dragons!

But Sheila looked at them with a wide and familiar smile, then looked at Bobby, with a kind of strange expression. Then she looked back at the cage in the corner, confused. Something about her attitude attracted the Magician's attention.

So, instead of worrying about their situation, Presto followed her gaze, as the others moved forward against the two furious Shadow Dragons.

As he looked, there was a movement in the cage, a tiny glimmer of white that limped forward.

And suddenly Presto knew what it was. And he knew what they had done wrong. And he knew what had happened.

_Oh crap!_ (I'm so stupid!) _I should have known! It was so obvious! I should have known!_

He looked suddenly round at Bobby, and to where the little white unicorn had been cowering just a few moments before.

But _that_ unicorn had gone.

He looked around. At the door of the cage, another unicorn limped out, her head down. She saw Bobby and gave a whine of pleasure.

Where had the other one gone?

'Oh, no!' Sheila cried out suddenly. Presto, and everyone else turned to look.

Over by the far wall, there was _another_ unicorn. And just beside it was a slender glowing pole made of metal.

His breath caught. It was the Orion Lance! It had to be!

And the Uni-Doppelganger was just next to it. They were all too far away to do anything but watch.

There was an ugly, teeth-grating snarl from the pseudo-unicorn and as everyone watched, open mouthed, it began to change.

Firstly, it grew bigger, and broader across the shoulders, its red mane changing to light pink then white. The horn darkened and sank into its head as its pony-like muzzle squashed up and broadened too, making it look like Uni had had her face truncated and split in two. The loving, pink eyes grew black as well, and Presto saw a glint of malicious red within them.

The contorted body of the unicorn continued to change, the muscles and skin blending into something totally different, and turning darker and uglier with every passing moment. It grew bigger still, and pushed itself up on its hind legs, its forelegs turned to arms, and it grew taller, and thinner, and blacker.

At last, it stopped changing, and before them stood a Drow; and evil Elfling. It glared at them, and grabbed the Lance before anyone had moved.

As it lifted the ancient weapon off the floor there what another thunderous shriek from one of the Shadow Dragons and the Magician staggered at the sheer force of the sound.

He looked round. Everyone was almost exactly where they had been before; the change had only taken a few moments at most. Hank and the others were close to the Shadow Dragons, but now the great beasts were looking to the Doppelganger/Drow rather than his friends.

It took a deep breath in.

'Get down!' shouted Hank. 'Look o…'

He never got the chance to finish.

The Shadow dragon exhaled, but instead of fire the cave was consumed with darkness, the kind of thick, sticking darkness that only magic could produce.

There were more shrieking noises, and Presto guessed that one Dragon would most likely go for the Doppelganger, but the other one would go after him and his friends. He had to do something!

He groped around blindly, pulling the Hat from his head and trying to think up something good to ask it for.

_Light._ He couldn't think of anything clever to say at that particular time but in his mind's eye he could picture exactly what he wanted. Beautiful, bright, glaring white light. From anywhere!

'Let there be light!' he cried out. 

Instantly the last word was out of his mouth, the Hat almost exploded with radiance; a giant ball of searing, bright white light burst up to the ceiling like a firework. The darkness that surrounded the other evaporated, and they all shielded their eyes from the burning glow.

When Presto looked round he saw that there was only one Shadow Dragon in the cave; and he noticed the tail of the other one disappearing out of the fissure. The remaining Dragon howled in pain, using its front paws to try and hide its eyes, but in vain. After a moment of shrieking and thrashing around, it leaped up off the ground, and flew desperately to the fissure, following its mate out of the cave. But it missed, and careered into the wall, dislodging some of the rocks there. Somehow it struggled on, clawing at its damaged eyes scrambling over the rock to get away from the source of its pain.

Rocks had blocked part of the fissure, and the kids all ran up to it. Presto noticed the way Hank had grabbed Sheila and held her tightly against him, just for a fleeting moment. Then the Ranger turned back to the rock wall. They had no way to get out, except back down the tunnel, and no one wanted to go that way at the moment. They wanted outside, out to real places again, not trapped under the mountains!

The Barbarian stepped forward, the real, plaintive and pained Uni limping just a step or two behind. Bobby hefted his Club, smashing a huge hole in the wall, letting real daylight pour in to the cave. Presto glanced back; seeing the bones and the partially decomposed corpses that the Shadow Dragons had been storing. He shuddered once again.

'Come on!' shouted Hank. 'Let's get outta here!'

Behind, there were cracks in the wall of the cave, and Presto realised that the wall was going to come down. He ran, following Diana and Eric outside to the fresh air.

There was the sound of splintering rock behind them, and no one slowed down.

Presto was the last one out, running and sliding down the slope away from the caves.

Eventually, when they were still fairly close, there was an almighty crash, and a billow of smoke and small stones washed down the hillside.

The cave had finally collapsed.

He looked around, worrying about the two angry Shadow Dragons. But the only sign of them was a lone black dot a few miles away in the sky, wheeling and diving, as if still in pain. Of the other Dragon, there was no sign. And there was no sign of the Doppelganger anywhere.

They were outside. They were safe.

Much to his surprise they seemed to have cross all the way _under_ the mountain range; before them was a vast plane of purple plants, that seemed to be some sort of strange, Realmish grass. And instead of it being nearly night, it looked like it was almost midday! He frowned, unsure even of how long they had spent underground.

The others had stopped moving, and so Presto slumped down to the ground as well, exhausted.

He let out a long, empty sigh.

_Banish the Shadows from the Cave. _That was what Dungeonmaster had told them when they had first started out to find the Lance. And they had, the Shadow Dragon couldn't go back to its disgusting lair, or prey on the Duegars again, or anything else that strayed into the caves. But that was of no comfort.

The Lance had gone.

They hadn't even managed to get anywhere near it.

They had lost another way home, and they hadn't even had the _chance_ to use the Lance.

He looked round at his exhausted friends.

Bobby way hugging Uni, and petting her mane. Diana and Eric were side by side, both with glum and humourless expressions on their faces. And Hank and Sheila were together, Hank had his arm around the Thief, and she was leaning into his shoulder, with her eyes closed, and wonderful, relieved expression on his face.

_The Lance was gone._ He tried not to think about it. There was nothing they could do about it.

They were all safe, that was what mattered. There would always be another way home.

That was cold comfort today, but that would have to do.

* * *

The creature opened its eyes slowly, looking around.

The cold wind blew off the mountains, but that didn't bother the Doppelganger. It hid in a narrow cleft, half dozing for a number of days, until it was sure it would not be followed.

It was in no hurry, not now it had its prize and the Dungeonmaster's Young Fools had failed. When it returned to Master, it would be well rewarded, and well fed. Until then, it could afford to wait, and make sure it was not followed.

No, it had to be sure it wasn't followed.

Master would not like that. Master would not like that at all! It closed its eyes, and went back to sleep, the Orion Lance still clutched in its hand.

It would return to Master.

Soon.

* * *

The End

* * *

Coming very, VERY soon – "The Lair of the Lich King" - The kids enter a strange, empty, ruined land, only to find that it's not so empty after all. But when things go wrong, it's up to Hank and Diana to save the day: But that isn't as easy as it sounds!

* * *

Author's notes: 

On Creatures

"**Shadow Dragons**"; their descriptions and liking of mouldy meat are taken from the D&D Monstrous Manual.

"**Duegars**" are as well, sort of – I've made them a little bit nicer than they are in the Monstrous Manual, where they are more evil than just oppress ;)

On Thanks

Great, big juicy and heartfelt thanks to those who had reviewed this story and my other ones – especially Realmlife and C Bell. Thank you all for your support!


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